Few things can make the hair stand up on the back of your neck like knowing there’s a pest infestation in your home. Anything from termites to spiders can take up residence, but few species bother people like cockroaches.

These little critters have been around for hundreds of millions of years, so they’re likely not disappearing anytime soon—but there are some cockroach pest control techniques to help you bolster your home’s defenses against these ancient bugs.

Read on for some insight into how cockroaches can make themselves right at home—and how you can prevent them from doing so.

Remember that roaches are tiny

Despite the fears that you might have built up in your head, roaches are actually quite small, so they really don’t need that big of an opening if they’re going to sneak into your home. In fact, a hole that’s just 1/16 of an inch could be all they need to gain entry.

Once they get in, they don’t need all that much—food, water and warmth are about it. They don’t need plush accommodations like rodents do when they nest in insulation or similar spaces. Their living spaces are surprisingly spartan; they can be perfectly comfortable under the sink or in an uninsulated wall.

These simple needs can make cockroach pest control both simple and challenging.

Keep things tidy

Despite what you might have heard in the past, roaches aren’t automatically drawn to messy homes. They’re after warmth, darkness and moisture—but things like old food can be the icing on the cake. Make sure that you scrub your kitchen down regularly to get rid of old grease, and keep things like fresh produce stashed away and not out in the open.

Roaches might not be immediately drawn to your house by a mess, but piles of junk will certainly give them more of a reason to stay. Giving them plenty of nooks and crannies in which to hide is a mistake.

Make sure that you’re regularly cleaning up clutter in your home to make it unwelcome to roaches. If you can make your home a poor destination for bugs in the first place, then cockroach extermination might be altogether unnecessary.

Managing cockroach invasions

The first way to attempt cockroach pest control is a plan called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This strategy involves knowing how roaches behave and eliminating the common attractors for them. You want to start by controlling both food and clutter. Next be aware of the warm spots in your house, and set sticky traps to see if roaches are making their way inside.

Roaches can infiltrate your home through small cracks in the house or by hitching a ride on something as innocuous as a backpack. No matter how they’ve gotten inside, if their numbers have gotten out of control, then it’s time to call in the pros. Our team at Excellence Pest Control has the knowledge to control any number of pests, including cockroach extermination, so give us a call today.